Among the big names who have given the maximum allowable donation of $50,000 so far are: Hollywood actors Sharon Stone, Samuel Jackson, Halle Berry, Jamie Foxx, and producer James Lassiter.

Giving top dollar guarantees donors entry to private lunches and dinners and, of course, inaugural balls - and even a candlelit dinner with the Obamas. The Presidential Inaugural Committee promises to provide premium seating to the following events in exchange for a 50K contribution:

Other entertainment types who have given $50,000 to help fund Obama's inaugural celebration include Berry Gordy, founder of Motown Records, and Lisa Henson, daughter of the late Muppets creator Jim Henson.

Christopher Guest, creator of the mockumentaries "A Mighty Wind," "Best in Show," "Waiting for Guffman" and - the Sleuth's favorite - "For Your Consideration," has given $25,000. So has Jamie Lee Curtis.

Katherine Kendrick, the general counsel of Dreamworks Animation, has given $25,000 as well.

Liberal billionaire financier George Soros - not surprisingly - is a top donor to the inaugural effort. He has forked over $50,000, as have his two sons, daughter and daughter-in-law.

Obama's inaugural donors also include plenty of corporate titans and executives. Among them: Qualcomm founder Irwin Jacobs; Vicki Palmer, an executive vice president at Coca-Cola; Microsoft's Steven VanRoekel; and Chicagoan and longtime Democratic donor Fred Eychaner, who owns Newsweb Corp. (Random: the Sleuth attended a small party about seven years ago at Eychaner's stunning Lakeview home, a modern marvel of concrete and glass, surrounded by gardens and sculptures, built by renowned Japanese architect Tadao Ando. Eychaner was a very nice and interesting guy, and worth hundreds of millions of dollars.)

The Borgen Project has informative statistics on addressing global poverty.

$30 billion ends world hunger
$550 billion is the US Defense budget

This organization has the ability, resources, and policy-makers to suppress the threat of global poverty by enacting legislation here in the US, which is tied to the United Nation's Millennium Development Goals. Please support organizations such as The Borgen Project so that we may rid the world of poverty.

The Borgen Project has informative statistics on addressing global poverty.

$30 billion ends world hunger
$550 billion is the US Defense budget

This organization has the ability, resources, and policy-makers to suppress the threat of global poverty by enacting legislation here in the US, which is tied to the United Nation's Millennium Development Goals. Please support organizations such as The Borgen Project so that we may rid the world of poverty.

HAS ANYONE OF OUR CITIZENS EVER LOOKED UP HOW MUCH WE HAVE GIVEN TO ALL NATIONS ?
AND THE UNITED NATIONS WOULD GO BROKE AND BE NON-EXISTANT IF IT WAS'NT FOR AMERICA? AND THEY WANT NEW HEADQUARTERS? WONDER WHAT INTEREST WE ARE BEING CHARGED FROM OTHER NATIONS FOR 'MONEY' LOANS?

THE HOLLYWOOD GROUP ARE GIVING AND GIVING TO OBAMA - SO HE CAN 'LOOK LIKE LINCOLN'
LET'S BE REAL! AND I THINK OBAMA WANTS TO GIVE AFRICA $84 BILLION..... THE PEOPLE THAT NEED IT NEVER GET THIS MONEY --- IT ALL GOES TO CROOKED GOVERNMENTS.....LIKE CHICAGO?

HAS ANYONE OF OUR CITIZENS EVER LOOKED UP HOW MUCH WE HAVE GIVEN TO ALL NATIONS ?
AND THE UNITED NATIONS WOULD GO BROKE AND BE NON-EXISTANT IF IT WAS'NT FOR AMERICA? AND THEY WANT NEW HEADQUARTERS? WONDER WHAT INTEREST WE ARE BEING CHARGED FROM OTHER NATIONS FOR 'MONEY' LOANS?

THE HOLLYWOOD GROUP ARE GIVING AND GIVING TO OBAMA - SO HE CAN 'LOOK LIKE LINCOLN'
LET'S BE REAL! AND I THINK OBAMA WANTS TO GIVE AFRICA $84 BILLION..... THE PEOPLE THAT NEED IT NEVER GET THIS MONEY --- IT ALL GOES TO CROOKED GOVERNMENTS.....LIKE CHICAGO?